Up to 41% of popular vegetables and fruits sold at fresh markets and supermarkets have been found to contain toxic chemical residues above the safe level, according to an annual food test by the Thailand Pesticide Alert Network (Thai-PAN).
Interestingly, the percentage of contaminated vegetables and fruits found in samples taken from supermarkets is even higher than that collected from fresh markets, said Thai-PAN.
Contamination was found in 44% of supermarket vegetable and fruit samples while that in samples from fresh markets was at 39%.
The most contaminated vegetables included Chinese mustard green, Chinese kale, basil, coriander, chili, and broccoli, said Thai-PAN.
Popular types of vegetables and fruits are put on display at a press conference held yesterday to disclose results of annual food safety tests by the Thailand Pesticide Alert Network (Thai-PAN). Tawatchai Kemgumnerd
These results are based upon tests on 286 samples of 15 vegetables and nine fruit most popular among consumers, which were collected from both fresh markets and supermarkets in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Khon Kaen, Yasothon, Sa Keao, Chanthaburi, Ratchaburi and Songkhla.
The samples were tested at an ISO-17025 certified laboratory in the UK, according to Thai-PAN.
Compared with imported fruit, the contamination percentage in local fruit was higher, said Thai-PAN.
About 33.3% of imported fruits were found to be contaminated compared to 48.7% of locally grown products, said Thai-PAN.
The most common type of chemical residues found was carbendazim, a fungicide used to control plant diseases, said Thai-PAN.
Other less common residues included cypermethrin, imidacloprid, azoxystrobin and chlorpyrifos.
